#bloody fairy tale

[missygoesmeow]

“There is a striking resemblance between the act of love and the ministrations of a torturer.” ― Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

[the-swift-tricker]

The Company of Wolves dir. Neil Jordan

[id four screenshots from the company of wolves. the first shows the silhouette of a naked woman with long wild hair standing at the edge of a well in the dark. the second shows her hand gripping the well's rim as she descend into it. the third and fourth show a young girl half hidden in shadows next to a fireplace gently stroking a wolf sitting next to her. the subtitles read "she crept inside to the world below..and that's all i'll tell you, because that's all i know." end id]

[a-ramblinrose]

“Every week we got new boxes of picture books, new picture book versions of “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Such multiplicity! Such mutableness! The stories remained themselves, and yet they could be reworked over and over and over again. You just had to pick the patterns, the archetypes, the bits of fairy tale business to which you felt most drawn. Or, perhaps, the ones where you saw something that you wanted to quarrel about. What a relief to see how much stretch there was to stories. What a relief to see that you, too, as a writer, could be serious about the things that mattered to you, no matter whether they seemed significant to anyone else.”

― Kelly Link, from the introduction to The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories: 75th-Anniversary Edition by Angela Carter

[metaforadohomeminvisivel]

"Hush" Buffy The Vampire Slayer S04 E10

[clarafell]

“ what did you do? what the hell did you just do? ” teehee

darker thrilling prompts / accepting / @wolfvirago

In another world, Homura may have flinched at the sound of Robin's angry voice as if her aggressive demands were metal harshly scraping against the ground. To be the target of Robin's anger would strike fear into the hearts of anyone, especially with the wielded sword. Homura, however, stands her ground. The being that Robin gazes upon is no longer the good-for-nothing weakling from eons ago. In her place is an abomination, oozing with a repulsive power that should not exist. The devil takes the stage, casting away the role of a maiden with a still beating heart.

❝ You have also managed to remember? How strange... ❞ She does not bother to answer the questions, more interested in the anger than the question themselves. Homura has come to learn the universe like the back of her hand, but surprises still come to greet her. Having to witness Sayaka Miki's impressive streak of luck to not only summon her witch, but also manage to remember her sinful deed, did surprise her. The blue-haired warrior once called herself the secretary to the Law of Cycles, but everyone knew she will always be the sword to strike down anyone who dared to tamper with her former childhood friend.

Sayaka's ability to remember pieces of the horrifying act of rebellion against the Law of Cycles will always be quite impressive, but it wasn't something Homura wanted to see again. So, all Homura did is force back those memories. She pushed back the mermaid witch until it slept in the darkest depths of Sayaka's mind, forced to sleep. To have a puella magi that can summon forth her witch into battle is useful, Homura notices quite quickly. The closest comparison were the forgotten yet still impressive doppels from that failed timeline. Having witnessed the confident dance between Sayaka and her witch, Homura has found herself inspired...

She has chosen to bring back witches, unable to help herself from experimenting. They may come back as human, a dream plenty of them still longed to grasp in their hands. There is a price for them to walk amongst humans again. It isn't a painful price, not from her perspective. They will simply need to serve her when the time comes. Is that such a hard thing to do?

Robin, however, is lucky to not have been a resurrected witch. She still had the beauty of freedom on her side, able to carve her own path.

Well, not total freedom.

❝ It doesn't matter what I've done, Robin. All I have done is not allow such a perfect opportunity to slip from my fingers again. It has already happened, so there's no need to waste your energy on being so upset... ❞ Like Sayaka, it seems that Robin also has a bone to pick with her. Was overthrowing the Law of Cycles such a big deal for the both of them? Robin didn't even understand the depths of her decision to clip the wings of the Law of Cycles.

It wasn't like Homura was actively destroying the world, but... Robin still glares at her as if she has already brought ruin upon this world with every breath she takes.

Did Robin not look at their surroundings in this garden?

The sun still shines down upon them, bringing warmth and light. The universe is as fine as it can be, is it not? Her magic may spread, yes, but the world continues to spin. Everything is safe. The Incubators don't have their filthy grasps on the Law of Cycles because Homura has taken control, forcefully bringing the old universe to the chopping block in order to make room for her universe. She was once their tool, her darkened soul becoming their defenseless experiment in an endless cycle of torture, but she refuses to let them get closer to anything remotely important.

She will become anyone's enemy in order to stay in control.

❝ You shouldn't remember what happened. Let's fix that, shall we? It's best you accept it, not be as defiant as that brave yet stupid Sayaka Miki. I thought you would understand that fighting something you can't even begin to understand is not the best decision for you to do, especially since you saw what happened to her when she still had the nerve to stand against me. ❞ Weary eyes narrow ever so slightly the moment Robin's still lingering disbelief melts completely into anger, but Homura only continues to stare into her very core with an unflinching gaze.

❝ This is a new beginning, Robin. You will grow to love it here, I'm sure of it. All you need is a little push in the right direction. Enjoy your freedom, Robin... ❞

Or does she have to silence Robin?

[pinupcitizen]

The Pied Piper!

The moral of the story is budget your projects, I think.

[haveyoureadthishorrorbookpoll]

Have you read...

From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.

submit a horror book!

[howifeltabouthim]

She had often tried to imagine what secret could be so grim as to merit murdering one's wife for discovering it, but the answer was contained in the question. Question: What in this chamber is so frightful that I must die if I see it? Answer: Your own death, for asking the question.

Anna Biller, from Bluebeard's Castle

[conduitstreetcat]

Book 2 Chapter 20: Pulling the Strings

You pop in to ask me what I want for dinner - when I say nothing, your silence is louder than words could be. You nod and leave, closing the door quietly behind you.

You're not doing anything wrong on the surface - you're not. But I *feel* your dissatisfaction underneath - bubbling up, eating away at what we're building together.

Don't you see that this is for *us*, Sebastian? We could rule the world together... I've never even considered sharing the Empire with anyone - do you know how much trust I've shown you? Do you think I could have shared my life with anyone like this?

And after all this, you're obsessing about the bloody detective - he's just something to toy with, nothing more. Don't you know how bored I get, how alone I've been in the world without big brains to play with?

Why should I have to explain this to you, Sebastian?

Read it on AO3!

[bloodybosom]

[the-swift-tricker]

The Company of Wolves dir. Neil Jordan

[id five screenshots from the company of wolves showing a rustic village square with a well in the center and a shadowy wolf emerging from it. the wolf looks around with yellow lights reflected in it's eyes and the subtitles read "once upon a time...when the village was asleep...a she-wolf came, from the world below to the world above." end id]

[whilereadingandwalking]

Fairytales, bright and dark, written and told, embellished and bare, I love them all. Did you know I studied fairy tales in college? Some of my favorite courses, and I found some of my favorite analysts through those classes. Even if they were at 9 a.m. and I was always in desperate need of coffee!

[a-ramblinrose]

“In the 1970s I was reading Andrew Lang and the Grimm brothers and Perrault and d’Aulaire for the first time. I was a child. I read like a child, for pleasure, and in order to figure out what the rules were, and what price you paid when you broke those rules. And again, as an adult, it seemed to me that I was breaking the rules by continuing to read and reread the things that pleased me best.”

― Kelly Link, from the introduction to The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories: 75th-Anniversary Edition by Angela Carter

[lovelyweepingglitter]

The Princess and the Pauper

Long ago and far away, two lovely little girls were born. Alice Tsukagami grew up in a small village, toiling as a seamstress. Tifa Lockhart grew up in a big, beautiful palace, learning her royal duties as a princess. They led very different lives, but they looked the same - except for their hair color.

One day, Queen Thea Lockhart discovered that the royal crystal mines were empty. She wanted her daughter, Tifa, to marry the rich King Yugo Ogami so that they would be enough money to take care of all the people in the kingdom of Nibelheim. Princess Tifa, however, was in love with her knight and childhood friend, Cloud Strife.

"I wish I were free to do what I want," Princess Tifa as she and Cloud walked through the village.

Suddenly, they beautiful singing. It was Alice. The Princess saw Alice and thought she was looking in a mirror.

"You look just like me," Princess Tifa told Alice. "Except for our hair color and this crown-shaped birthmark on my shoulder, we could be twins."

The two girls quickly became friends. The Princess learned that Alice had to pay off her family's debts and worked at Madame Scarlet's dress shop. Before saying goodbye, Tifa promised to have Alice sing at the palace one day.

Meanwhile, no one knew that the royal advisor, Rufus Shinra, had stolen the Queen's crystals. He was now rich, and he wanted the Princess to marry him to save the kingdom. More than anything, he wanted to be king. When Rufus learned that the Princess was going to marry King Yugo, he was furious. He had the Princess kidnapped and taken to an abandoned royal cabin. He then told Queen Thea that Princess Tifa had run away. Rufus had hoped that King Yugo would call off the wedding. And the Queen would be so grateful when Rufus later returned the Princess that she would let him marry her daughter.

Cloud didn't believe Rufus's story. He went to Madame Scarlet's dress shop and asked Alice to help him.

"Me? What can I do?" Alice asked.

"Pretend to be Princess Tifa while I find out what's going on," said Cloud.

"Who would ever believe that I'm a princess?" asked Alice.

"Leave that to me," Cloud said, smiling.

So with a black wig and some coaching, Alice learned how to walk, act, and dress like the Princess.

Cloud went back to the palace and announced that the Princess had returned. When King Yugo was introduced to Alice, he fell in love with her beautiful voice and sweet nature. Alice fell in love with the King because he was gentle and kind.

"There's something about you," King Yugo said. "You're honest and down-to-earth. You don't act like a princess."

Alice wished she could tell the King the truth, but first, Cloud had to find the real princess.

At the royal cabin, Princess Tifa planned her escape. Covering her cat, Kairi, with a white sheet, the Princess called to her kidnappers. "Help! A ghost!"

When Rufus's men rushed to open the door, Kairi dropped the sheet over them. The Princess and Kairi then fled to the palace.

Everyone at the palace believed that Alice was the Princess. Even Rufus. He raced to the cabin to see what had happened to Princess Tifa. Cloud secretly followed him. Rufus was furious when he discovered that Tifa was gone.

"Where is the Princess, Rufus?" Cloud demanded. "What have you done with her?"

"You're the knight. You should have all the answers," Rufus replied as his men captured Cloud.

Princess Tifa made her way back to the palace gates. But seeing her stained and dirty clothes, no believe she was the Princess. The guards wouldn't let her in! With nowhere else to turn, Tifa went to Madame Scarlet's dress shop to see if Alice could help her.

Madame Scarlet saw the Princess and thought she was Alice.

"You lazy girl!" the old dressmaker scolded. "You're leaving until every dress is finished." Then Madame Scarlet locked Princess Tifa in the shop.

The Princess tried to send a message to the palace. She tied her royal ring to one of Madame Scarlet's dress labels and attach it to Kairi's collar.

"Take this to the palace," Princess Tifa instructed her cat. "When they see the label, it will lead them here."

Unfortunately, Rufus found Kairi first. He went to Madame Scarlet's dress shop and pretended that he wanted to help Princess Tifa. But instead of returning her to the palace, he took the Princess to the abandoned crystal mine. When Princess Tifa found Cloud tied up, she realized that Rufus was behind her kidnapping.

"Now I'm going to tell the Queen you've been in an unfortunate mining accident and she'll have to marry me to save the kingdom," Rufus said.

"No will believe you," said Princess Tifa.

"They will when they see this!" Rufus laughed as he showed them the Princess's ring.

Rufus left the mine and had his men knock down the beams leading to the entrance. Princess Tifa and Cloud were trapped!

At the palace, King Yugo offered Alice a beautiful engagement ring and asked her to marry him.

"But that girl isn't the Princess," Rufus announced. "She's an imposter!"

"What proof do you have?" asked King Yugo.

Suddenly, Rufus's dog, Xemnas, jumped and pulled off Alice's wig, revealing her purple hair.

"And look at her shoulder," Rufus directed. "There's no royal birthmark. Take her to the dungeon!"

The King ambassador was outraged. He made Yugo leave the palace immediately.

Rufus held up Princess Tifa's royal ring. He told Queen Thea that the Princess was dead.

"What will I do without my daughter?!" cried the Queen. "What will become of my kingdom now?"

"I can save your kingdom," said Rufus. "I've made quite a bit of money in my business. Marry me and your problems will be solved."

Reluctantly, Queen Thea agreed.

Meanwhile, the Princess and Cloud were desperately trying to find a way out of the crystal mine. Suddenly, Alice's cat, Sora, appeared. The clever cat led them toward an old mine shaft, but they couldn't climb to opening. It was too steep. As they stopped to rest, Tifa noticed a rock that had split open, showing sparkling stones.

"Look! Materias!" exclaimed the Princess. "I've never known we had them in the mine."

Cloud swung his pickaxe and dislodged some of the rocks near a bubbling pool of water. The water shot up like a geyser.

"That's the way out!" shouted Tifa. The water filled the mine and lifted them through the shaft to freedom.

Meanwhile, Alice sang a beautiful song that slowly put the guards in the dungeon to sleep. She then tiptoed out, right into the arms of - King Yugo! He was dressed as a guard and had returned to rescued her.

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked the King.

"I don't care if you're not the Princess," King Yugo said. "I love you for being who you are."

"You're the first person who's ever believed in me," said Alice. As she spoke, she realized that the King is indeed in love with her. But there was no time to waste. The palace guards would soon realize that Alice was missing. The King and Alice ran to his chocobo and rode to safety.

The wedding of Rufus Shinra and Queen Thea Lockhart was about to begin when Princess Tifa burst in.

"Stop the wedding!!" Tifa shouted.

"It's the imposter!!" Rufus exclaimed.

"No, Rufus," the Princess said as she showed everyone the crown-shaped birthmark on her shoulder. "I'm Princess Tifa Lockhart and I'm still alive."

Knowing that his evil plan was falling apart, Rufus tried to escape. He jumped onto his chocobo Ventus and raced away. But Ventus realized that Rufus was evil and galloped right back to the palace. When the chocobo finally stopped short, Rufus landed on the royal wedding cake and was quickly arrested.

"When I think about what might have happened..." Queen Thea shuddered.

"But it didn't, thanks to Alice and Cloud," Princess Tifa said. "Cloud is the man I love. He had Alice pretend to be me so that he could save me."

"I want you to be happy," the Queen told her. "But the kingdom is in trouble."

"Don't worry, Mother. The crystal mine isn't worthless after all," the Princess explained. "We found materias in the mines. They're valuable and will save the kingdom!"

Then the Princess thanked Alice and paid off the girl's debt at Madame Scarlet's shop. Alice was free.

King Yugo proposed to Alice. And after following her dream of singing and traveling the world, she returned to marry the King. That spring, the most beautiful double wedding the kingdom had even seen took place. Princess Tifa Lockhart married Cloud Strife and Alice Tsukagami married King Yugo Ogami. Kairi and Sora had many, many, kittens together. And they all lived happily ever after.

[clarafell]

" now i can stuff my mouth with chocolates without fear of appearing impolite. " (from nezuko)

bridgerton meme / accepting / @shibemuses

Homura watches the other girl pile chocolate truffles onto her plate, pleased that she is trusted enough to see this sweets-loving side of the girl. A fond smile graces her pale face as she observes how confident Nezuko's nimble fingers pluck up each new chocolate without a care in the world, adding more to her plate. They were alone now with no troubles to ruin their day. In fact, they were recently celebrating the defeat of a witch. It was Nezuko's idea to go to celebrate, insisting they should treat themselves for defeating a witch all by themselves.

Homura wasn't sure how to celebrate, but she soon decided to suggest visiting a bakery. Homura suggested one of the more older establishments, closer to her home. Homura planned on buying whatever Nezuko planned to buy at the bakery as thanks for the way she allowed her to keep the witch's grief seed. It was the only way she knew how to repay such a kind deed since she can only say 'thank you' so many times until she became annoying. She still planned to keep to her word to buy all of the chocolates, even though the plate kept on getting more heavier with each new truffle. It's neatly organized, shaping into a pyramid of sugary goodness.

❝ I didn't realize you had such a love for chocolate... ❞ Homura comments lightly, amazed at the sight. She knew her wallet might suffer a little bit, but it was worth it to see Nezuko smiling so much. Homura didn't select anything for herself. She's too busy with trying to keep track of all the different kinds of chocolate truffles. Moments like these are when she wished she had the same baking talent as their talented Mami, but she never had the motivation to try to make homemade chocolates.

It sounded messy, especially with getting the temperature just right for the melting process. Cooking was even more rough for her, often leading to embarrassing moments since she didn't have good improvising skills. Overall, she did like how calm baking could be compared to cooking. Even watching someone else bake still releases that cozy, relaxing feeling into her body. It was why she often wished she could watch Mami bake, but she was always too nervous to ask...

Baking, on the other hand, seemed a lot more easier because the measurements within the recipe were quite comforting. She's thought about making cookies before, maybe even the occasional cake. But making homemade chocolate was a completely different world. Even if she wanted to bake treats for her friends, she struggled to find the time to bake. She was constantly needing to restock on her homemade bombs... Or trying to find more good locations to steal weapons.

❝ Have you tried to make tea while eating chocolate? It's really soothing, I promise. You just have to experiment until you find a good combination. ❞ Eating, even making herself meals or snacks, tended to take a backseat since she always had to focus on restocking her supplies all the time. But she always had time to make herself a cup of tea.

❝ I often have all sorts of tea back at home, maybe a bit too much tea... Enjoying tea and chocolate is really nice. ❞ She speaks from experience since she enjoyed milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate. But pairing them up with tea is one of the best ways to enjoy sweets. It was why she always, without a doubt, felt so honored to be allowed into Mami's apartment for tea with everyone. She wouldn't trade those precious memories for anything.

❝ Earl Grey, for example, goes really well with dark chocolate! ❞ Homura's expression softens, happy to have a new memory with Nezuko. Even now, she is too tired to even think about buying herself a treat. The witch battle took a lot out of her, even though it seemed like Nezuko did all the harder work. It was alright, though, since seeing Nezuko so vibrant is worth everything. She would have to write down this day in her journal, but that will have to wait until when she's alone.

She didn't want to forget this moment.

[the-hearth-and-the-wild]

The woods enclose and then enclose again, like a system of Chinese boxes opening one into another; the intimate perspectives of the wood changed endlessly around the interloper, the imaginary traveller walking towards an invented distance that perpetually receded before me. It is easy to lose yourself in these woods.

Angela Carter, “The Erl-King”